Research shows two important truths about creativity. First, no person is inherently more creative than another. Second, anyone can make creativity a habit. Throughout time, history shows that people—regardless of background, race, ethnicity, or place—who made creativity a daily practice achieved incredible results in the arts as well as the sciences.

The National Core Arts Standards provide a framework for advancing students’ artistic understanding. This structure breaks down the developmental stages from Pre K through high school into ten anchor standards. In each stage, students build creative habits as they learn to:

• Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work
• Organize and develop ideas and work
• Refine and complete artistic work
• Select, analyze, and interpret artistic work for presentation
• Convey meaning through the presentation
• Perceive and analyze artistic work
• Interpret intent and meaning
• Apply criteria to evaluate work
• Make art by synthesizing and relating knowledge and personal experiences
• Deepen understanding by relating artistic ideas to societal, historical, and cultural contexts